Notre Dame got some more bad injury news today when head coach Marcus Freeman announced that sophomore edge Boubacar Traore will miss the remainder of the 2024 season after suffering a season-ending knee injury in the Irish victory over Louisville.
Traore was playing outstanding football at the time of his injury, and despite only starting two games he was the team's leader in sacks with three, and he was second on the team in total quarterback pressures with eight. His eight pressures was just one behind team-leader Howard Cross III , but Traore had played half the snaps that Cross has received. Traore also leads the Irish with five tackles for loss.
The sophomore Vyper had shown an impressive knack for making plays and getting after the quarterback. His burst off the edge combined with his length, power and ability to bend around the edge to make him a very disruptive player for the Irish. Losing him suffers a major blow to the Notre Dame pass rush, which has been inconsistent overall this season.
It's also yet another blow to the Vyper position, as Notre Dame already lost starter Jordan Botelho to a season-ending knee injury in the win over Purdue. Botelho was also playing at a high level at the time of his injury, which makes it even tougher. Notre Dame's depth at the position will be severely tested over the next seven games, and the Irish cannot afford another injury at the position.
Junior Tuihalamaka stepped into the two deep after Botelho went down, and he now steps into the starting lineup. Tuihalamaka played zero defensive snaps prior to Botelho's injury, but he's played very good football since he was thrust into the lineup. Tuihalamaka came to Notre Dame as a linebacker and he's still making the full transition to playing on the defensive line.
Tuihalamaka had just four pressures in the 2023 season, but he's already registered six this season, which is evidence of his improvement. He also has a tackle for loss and had an interception.
Notre Dame gets back Josh Burnham for this contest, which will help the depth chart. Burnham played Vyper last season but moved to end this season. He'll also help out at Vyper, as will freshman Loghan Thomas .
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